Posts

Laws are good, their enforcement not

Dear Corruption Watch, In what ways would your organisation like to see the new administration strengthening the legal and regulatory framework aimed at combating corruption? Observer Dear Observer, The biggest problem is not in the content of the law. It is our inadequate enforcement owing to a lack of political will and suitably skilled law Read more >

Blow the whistle on dodgy companies

Dear Corruption Watch How do we deal with allegations of corruption by South African companies abroad? Does our legislation cover such acts and what can be done to stop it, because it is affecting business and our country’s reputation? — Embarrassed Dear Embarrassed Corruption by South African companies operating abroad is addressed under South Africa’s Read more >

Local government in South Africa – part 4, the law

In part four of our local government series we take a look at the key pieces of legislation that are relevant to local government. South Africa’s Constitution not only creates local government, but also sets out its objectives in various pieces of legislation. These regulate different areas of local government including the establishment and development Read more >

Local government in South Africa – part 1, overview

Since our launch in January 2013, Corruption Watch has received a high volume of reports uncovering corrupt activities at local government level. As local government is the sphere of government that is the closest to the people and provides services to communities, it is important to understand what this level of government is all about. Read more >

Corruption and the law in South Africa – part two

In part one we looked briefly at the four main regional and international conventions that inform some of South Africa’s pieces of anti-corruption legislation. In part two we take a closer look at the leading domestic legislation on corruption – the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (12 of 2004) (Precca). Precca was written Read more >

Corruption and the law in South Africa – part one

Corruption is not a problem unique to South Africa, but it is one of the country’s major challenges. In our new three-part series we will examine the international conventions, local legislation, and other channels that should be helping our country get to grips with the problem. Part one introduces the international anti-corruption conventions which inform Read more >

Disclosure of information at all-time low

Around the same time that the International Day to End Impunity was commemorated, the PAIA Civil Society Network (PAIA CSN) released its annual shadow report on compliance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) (2 of 2002). The CSN is a group of organisations and individuals working to advance the right of access to information, and achieve a culture of Read more >

Ministers are subject to the law

Dear CW Following the arrest of two officials in her department, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant recently spoke out against corruption. It’s all good to be fighting corruption in departments but shouldn’t we be starting at the top? Are there any laws that govern the conduct of ministers and if so, what can be done if Read more >

Cross-border punishment for corrupt companies

That the US Justice Department and Securities Exchange Commission are looking into Gold Fields’s controversial BEE transaction raises questions for me as a local shareholder. First, under what jurisdiction would they be prosecuted if they have contravened the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and/or South Africa’s Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act? Second, in Read more >